Legal eagles and costs

Hello everyone,

I have spoken with a solicitor he says the best option is to work closely with council and ensure that the discharge from the flue is compliant and that the development meets council regulations.

The decision to take the owner to the Land of environment court is likely to cost 20-30K and if the case is lost paying the other parties court costs. Taking this route would mean that we would have to build an ironclad case otherwise it could be very expensive or $60,000 or more on the losing side the other extreme could be that we paid $0 in costs.

Best Regards
Mark Koscak

Development application documents

Hello everyone,

There may be legal requirements prohibiting wholesale replication of development application on this blog. I will reference this material so that we may discuss it.

There is a search page for development applications
http://www2.kogarah.nsw.gov.au/datrackingui/modules/applicationmaster/default.aspx?page=search

If you type in the application number first

• 240

and then type in the year

• 2011

Click on search it will display the relevant documents.

In the DA there is a statement of environmental effects, I believe that it contains information that is not factually accurate.

Point 2. What (if any) waste products, odours or noise will be produced by the proposed development?

A. Normal general waste. There will be some smoke produced when starting the woodfire oven. The odour will be of pizza which is a pleasant smell.

Point 6. How will the proposed development affect local air quality or water quality.
A. No effect.

Some building regulations

Hello everyone,

I am concerned with the negative effects of the pollution being emitted from the solid fuel burning activity of commercial premises at 6 The Strand Penshurst. I am searching for building regulations as it seems unreasonable to locate the emission of exhaust gasses at almost the same level as residents windows.

To this end I have found
http://www.esc.nsw.gov.au/site/Publications/Strategies/PolicyReg/LivePolicyDocs%5C2088.pdf

It is interesting to note below the white smoke that all of us can attest to is a result of unburnt particles also consider point (f) of section 5 External Requirements - General

Solid fuel burning in the home provides an effective economical and attractive method
of heating. However the installation of solid fuel heating devices has the potential to
create significant problems with respect to fire hazard, environmental pollution and
nuisance to adjoining properties.

Pollutants in woodsmoke include:
1. gases such as carbon monoxide
2. organic compounds, including air toxins
3. fine particles, formed when unburnt gases cool as they go up the chimney; in the
air, these can be seen as white smoke.

Many of these compounds are common with those seen in tobacco smoke or car
exhausts. In fact, over 100 chemicals found in cigarette smoke have also been
identified in woodsmoke.

 5. External Requirements – General
The products of combustion shall discharge as not to create a public nuisance. This condition may be satisfied
by installing flues in accordance with Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7. The flue exit and the end of the flue-pipe
casing shall both be fitted with means to prevent significant ingress of water and debris, and such means shall beconstructed and fitted so as not to significantly obstruct flue discharge and convection ventilation of the fluepipecasing, where required.

The flue exit shall be located outside the building (see Figure 2) in which the appliance is installed so that:

(a) the flue pipe shall extend not less than 4.6m above the top of the floor protector;

(b) the minimum height of the flue system within 3m distance from the highest point of the roof shall be
600mm above that point;

(c) the minimum height of a flue system further than 3m from the highest point of the roof shall be 1000mm
above roof penetration;

(d) no part of any building lies in or above a circular area described by a horizontal radius of 3m about the
flue system exit;

(e) termination of the flue system does not constitute a risk of fire to heat sensitive materials; and

(f) there is no forseen risk of penetration of flue gases through nearby windows or other openings including
neighbours windows, fresh air inlets, mechanical ventilation inlets or exhausts, or the like.

The road ahead

I would like to remind Penshurst residents surrounding Artichoke pizza (6 The Strand) who are  affected by smoke that the change we seek may be many months away, many letters and many phone calls away.

We should always keep the focus of clean air and a clean environment for us and our children as our motivation for making a phone call and or writing some correspondence to council.

If the council does not know the frequency and how many people the pollution affects then they quite literally believe that everything is perfect even though a poor planning decision may have been made.

Email contacts list

Hello everyone,

I want to get a conversation going so please reply to this post with your email address and I can keep you in the loop as to what is going on.

Thank you

Best Regards
Mark

First contact with council regards smoke

Hello everyone,


Below is my first correspondence with council albeit I incorrectly sent this through to Rockdale council. I subsequently read the council websites and they stated that the best way to resolve problems is speaking with your neighbors directly.

This has worked up to a point but the proprietor of Artichoke now has stated to me that he is free to pollute as he has council approval, and that I should not bother him and to speak direct with council if I have any problems.

I aim now to keep chipping away build a network of contacts with fellow residents, Councillors,  perhaps even legal council and see what we can do to get our clean air back.

Thank you for your consideration

Best Regards
Mark

//***** First letter to council *********//

Hello Council staff,

Recently there has opened a new wood fired Pizza shop opposite Penshurst station.

The negative impact is that smoke does not disperse well from this location and ends up in residents back yards.

This summer evening 7th Jan 2012 at 7PM smoke is wafting into my living areas and bedroom.

I have approached the owner and he is a lovely gentleman and has said he will do something about this, I understand that he has already extended the flue, I am not sure what additional measures he can take? Can this smoke be filtered or a much larger flue be built so that the smoke does not end up in our back yards.

It is just really terrible to sit in your home and be exposed to smoke while eating a meal and watching tv.

This is my first contact on the matter and I will be making additional approaches. I find this an instance of exceptionally poor planning on councils behalf.

Please advise what next steps we can take to have this problem reviewed and hopefully a good resolution to all involved. Should I canvas other residents and see if I am being hyper sensitive on this issue?

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Best Regards

Mark

Early June 2012 and we have Clean air Artichoke pizza is on holidays...

Hello Penshurst residents,

Artichoke pizza has been closed for a few weeks while the owner has been on holidays. The improvement in air quality inside my unit is really noticeable!

This has really made me focus on having the effluent from the burning be cleaned up once and for all. To this end I have phoned council on the 22nd May and obtained the original DA's which I will upload in the next few days. I have also phoned Kogarah council today to see what is happening regards inspections.

Below is a copy of an email I sent to council on  Wednesday 6th June 2012

Hello council staff,

I am a resident of The Strand Penshurst.

I have lived in this residence for over four years without incident, I am writing today because the proprietor of Artichoke wood fired pizza Richard has been on holidays for the past two weeks and my quality of life is noticeably improved in that time. This is due elimination of smoke from his regular wood burning activity.

Since the start of this year 2012 I have been working with the proprietor of Artichoke pizza (6 The Strand) to eliminate the impact of commercial quantities wood burning impacting myself and other residents. The burning of wood creates intrusive amounts of smoke that permeates all living areas of my flat. This includes bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, lounge areas. 

This is of major concern to myself and other residents due to the ongoing and permanent nature of wood burning operations.

I raised a complaint with council a few weeks ago after speaking with Richard who after numerous complaints of mine and other residents told me he doesn't care that it is not his problem, he has the approval and talk to council.

I would like to start a process with the objective of clean air free from smoke in the local area.

I think we have some options to achieve this

• council and residents allow the permit to lapse after a period of time e.g. 3 years
• council and residents agree to some form of compensation for Richard and prohibit the burning of wood or other combustibles. That is revoke the right to burn wood for the purpose of baking pizza.
• Richard agrees that an electric oven is a suitable alternative.

I believe that the proximity or residents homes to the chimney or flue and volume of effluent discharged is inappropriate. The flue is below the level of the units and on many occasion discharges smoke waste into a kind of trap around the back of residential units, where laundry lines and windows are present.

I also believe there are many other significantly better alternatives for commercial activity than one that discharges so much waste and is highly unpleasant onto third parties, the bicycle shop and cafe are good examples of this.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best Regards

Mark